Expert Says to Ask This One Question Before Starting Supplements

Supplements are everywhere. Walk through the supplement section of a local pharmacy, and you’ll likely find shelves packed with products beside cold and flu remedies. Social media influencers also promote them constantly, and targeted ads often promise dramatic results.

Still, there’s an important catch: supplements are not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Although companies are legally required to ensure their products are safe and that label claims are not misleading, oversight is far less rigorous than it is for many other products.

“I can understand their thoughts, and in my practice they are often right, but not when there is a true deficiency,” Dr. Campazzi tells Parade. “True deficiencies are rare, but when you have one, the supplement is the treatment. My former dean at Johns Hopkins, Alfred Sommer, is credited with preventing blindness and saving millions of children’s lives across Asia and Africa with a vitamin A capsule that costs two cents and is given twice a year. It worked because those children were deficient. So they’re not a waste of money—the waste is taking them without information.”

So how do you get that information? Dr. Campazzi explains what to ask, what to look for on labels, and why a conversation with your doctor matters before you buy anything.

The First Question to Ask Your Doctor Before Taking a Supplement

Dr. Campazzi says the first question to bring to your doctor is: “How will I know if it’s working?”

“This is the key question, because for most of the supplements people take, they have no idea whether it’s working or even harming them,” he explains. “There can be a good reason to take a supplement that doesn’t have a blood test attached to it, but you should give your symptoms a brief daily rating.”

For instance, if you’re taking something to improve sleep, rate your sleep and grogginess from 0 to 10. “Rate a few nights before you start, so you have something to compare with. That’s it: 30 seconds soon after waking, because almost none of us can remember dinner from a week ago,” Dr. Campazzi says.

The Most Important Labels to Check on a Supplement Bottle

Supplements may not be FDA-approved, but some labels suggest stricter oversight, according to Dr. Campazzi, which means you’re more likely to get what the bottle claims.

“Some bottles look like they won the Olympics, with multiple gold seals and accolades. Only four of those seals mean anything to me,” he says.

Those labels include:

• USP Verified (United States Pharmacopeia): the product contains what it claims, in the amounts listed, without harmful levels of contaminants.

• NSF Certified: confirms label accuracy and screens for contaminants.

• NSF Certified for Sport: also tests for more than 280 banned athletic substances.

• ConsumerLab: passed their independent testing.

Why You Should Talk to Your Doctor Before Starting Anything New

Those seals can tell you what is in a supplement, but they do not tell you whether it will help you or cause harm. That is why Dr. Campazzi strongly recommends speaking with your doctor before starting one.

“Many supplements are as active in the body as drugs, and some interact with medications and with each other,” he warns. “Most of the time there isn’t a problem, but adding St. John’s wort to an antidepressant can push serotonin to dangerous levels, a reaction called serotonin syndrome. Kevin, a healthy 43-year-old patient of mine, took a double dose of a ‘thermogenic’ pre-workout supplement and ended up in the emergency room with a racing heart from the synthetic stimulant it contained.”

And unless you have a true deficiency that a doctor has identified, supplements may simply cost you money without much benefit. That is especially true when you do not know exactly what is inside the bottle.

“In the book I call it the ‘blend trap:’ a ‘proprietary blend’ lists a dozen or more ingredients and one total weight, without saying how much of each,” Dr. Campazzi says. “Even a research lab couldn’t sort out cause and effect with that little information.”

Dr. Campazzi’s Personal Supplement Stack

We also asked Dr. Campazzi what he personally takes. He notes that these choices fit his own labs and lifestyle and are not meant as a recommendation for anyone else.

• Pure Encapsulations Vitamin D3/K2, 4,000 IU / 100 mcg, every morning. “I have fair skin and minimize sun exposure even when I’m outside,” Dr. Campazzi says. “My level was low before I started, and the K2 helps steer calcium into bone.”

• Qunol Extra Strength CoQ10, 200 mg, every other day. “I take a statin, and my CoQ10 level was low on a blood test. It’s normal now,” he says.

• Pure TheraPro Methyl Multi, 2 capsules twice a day. “My folate (vitamin B9) and B12 levels were low; they’re normal now,” Dr. Campazzi says.

In short, Dr. Campazzi says supplements can be useful in the right circumstances. But it is still wise to consult a doctor before taking them and to choose brands that have passed legitimate third-party testing.

Sources

• Dietary Supplements, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

• The FTC and Dietary Supplements, Federal Trade Commission.

• Questions and Answers on Dietary Supplements, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

• Dr. Earl Campazzi, MD, author of the new book The Right Supplements: A Doctor’s Method for Knowing What Your Body Actually Needs

• The Story of Dean Sommer and Vitamin A, John Hopkins School of Public Health.